Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 10/2013

U.S.-India Homeland Security Cooperation: Building a Lasting Partnership via Transportation Sector Security

Rick "Ozzie" Nelson, Briana Fitch, Melissa Hersh, Ally Pregulman, Rob Wise

August 2013

Center for Strategic and International Studies

Abstract

India’s growing strategic importance, coupled with the gaps in its homeland security enterprise, provides an opportunity to extend its partnership with the United States and become a key partner in ensuring stability and security in Asia. Extending the U.S.-India partnership to homeland security is a natural evolution of the countries’ shared interests and could be aided by each nation’s experience countering internal threats and working within a federal system. However, the development of an effective Indian homeland security enterprise faces a variety of challenges at the political, organizational, technological, and even societal levels. This report seeks to explore these challenges, while focusing on tangible areas within the transportation security sector, including the rail, aviation, and maritime industry, where cooperation between the United States and India can advance the homeland security interests of both nations.